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~Ophelia's POV~

"Come on, please!" Stella whined to Saniya from where she sat, clasping her hands together as she pouted at the girl beside me.

Saniya scowled and stuck her nose up. "Absolutely not. That douchebag isn't allowed in my house ever again, Stell." She huffed, making Stella gasp. "He's not a douchebag!" Stella said defensively, though I doubt Luke would've cared much about the insult even if he were here to have heard it. "You say that now, but let's see how you feel after he dumps you." Saniya retorted, to which I gently bumped her knee with mine and sent her a look that said play nice. She only huffed.

It wasn't that Saniya was necessarily wrong in saying that. Even I, someone who was new here still, was sure that Luke was going to end up breaking up with Stella eventually. He had said to me that he wasn't dating her because he liked her, after all. However, I didn't want anyone fighting again, so I was constantly pushing one of them back when an argument could possibly arise. In most cases, that one was Saniya. As I've said, she has no problem showing her dislike for Luke.

"Please. Please, Saniya? I'll make sure he behaves! It'll be fun and we can all hang out together." Stella pleaded, slouching over the table. A few locks of her blonde hair fell over her shoulders, brushing the table's surface. "What's in it for me?" Saniya asked, narrowing her eyes at the petite girl.

Stella perked up almost immediately, seeming to sense that Saniya was on the verge of agreeing and just needed a little bit more of a push. "I'll get you whatever you want. Anything you want, I'll buy it for you." Stella bribed, hope in her green blue eyes. Saniya narrowed her eyes in thought and hummed dramatically, tapping her chin. "Fine, then." She said eventually, nodding her head. "I want three bags of those ghiradelli chocolates with the caramel filling. I also want you to buy me some new bras because I don't want to spend my own money on them." She negotiated, making my lips twitch up in amusement.

Although Stella rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, she nodded her head in agreement. "So if I buy you those, he can come, then?" She asked, raising a brow at Saniya. "I guess so." Saniya said, sighing dramatically.

I smiled a little and rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my chocolate milk. "Make sure you bring enough clothes, though. I'm not lending you mine if you forget to." Saniya warned, her gaze lingering on Zuri a little longer than everyone else. "Well, I live across the street, so I could just go get mine if I forget anything." I shrugged, setting the empty milk carton on my tray.

"What are we talking about?" Luke asked as he came up from behind out of nowhere, taking his usual seat in the empty chair between Stella and I. I glanced up at him, surprised at his sudden arrival, and Stella beamed widely. "We're all gonna spend the night at Saniya's. We'll be meeting up there after school is over." She explained to him, cuddling herself into his side as she clung onto his arm.

He snorted in amusement and shifted, gently shaking her off with a shake of his head. "I'll pass." He said dismissively, not interested in the idea. Stella's face fell and she frowned, looking up at him. "What? Come on, please. It'll be fun." She pleaded, grabbing his forearm gently.

Still, he just raised a brow down at her and gave a simple shake of his head. "I'm not interested, Stella. Sounds boring." He responded, turning her down once again. She looked really upset, so much so that I felt pretty bad for her. It seemed like he never wanted to be around her or to spend time with her. I thought it was rude, and that he deserved to be dumped, but Stella just didn't seem to care. She always put up with how rude he was to her, somehow.

"It won't be that bad. Besides, this'll be a good opportunity for us to all become better friends." I said to him, deciding to join Stella in trying to convince him. It seemed like she really wanted him to be there.

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